Sri Lanka’s president Ranil Wickremesinghe personally instructed his cabinet to crack down on Tamils who commemorated their war dead on Maaveerar Naal last month, according to press reports.
Thamilan, a newspaper based on the island, reported that on December 5 Wickremesinghe ordered Sri Lanka’s Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles to take action against those who marked Maaveerar Naal.
Whilst tens of thousands of Tamils across the island commemorated the date on November 27, Sri Lankan security forces raided remembrance events and subsequently arrested several Tamils.
The arrests sparked wide condemnation, including international messages of concern from diplomats and Human Rights Watch.
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